Valentino Rossi tries out NASCAR

We’re big fans of Valentino Rossi. He’s a nine-time MotoGP champion, once lapped within half a second of Michael Schumacher in a Ferrari F1 car, and cites Colin McCrae as his hero.

He is also, as you might have guessed, annoyingly good at driving really quickly. Case in point, this natty little video posted by Monster Energy. They decided to strap Mr Rossi and his leathers into a very big, very powerful and very noisy NASCAR racer, and told him to go and have some fun along the famous Charlotte Motor Speedway.

Only it wasn’t just any old NASCAR racer, it was Kyle Busch’s Toyota Camry. And Kyle Busch, for fans of turning left better than you can, is pretty handy himself: he’s won the last three NASCAR Nationwide races, and boasts 55 career Nationwide wins.

He’s also very protective of his little baby. And it’s some baby: a 358 cubic inch (around 5.7-litre) V8 with 650bhp sits underneath, meaning the big black Toyota has a tendency to get a little… wayward. As Rossi himself explained: “At the beginning it was a bit strange because it’s difficult to go straight, but after some laps, I had a lot of confidence and I was able to go faster and faster and faster.”

Yes, about that annoyingly good part. Kyle was on hand to note Rossi’s pace. He said: “He started out a little slow, which is fine, but every lap he picked it up a lot. He got to where he was running some competitive lap speeds – times that would put him in the top 15 in Nationwide Series practice. Pretty good for a guy on his first start.”

First start. Rossi literally hopped off the plane, jumped into a 650bhp V8-powered NASCAR and posted a top 15 time on his first attempt. Watch the video below. Then realise you’re nowhere near as multi-skilled-fast as Rossi. Sad face.